This invention generally relates to alarm systems for vehicles, and more particularly to a system for warning a vehicle operator that he or she is falling asleep while driving.
Among the many hazards associated with driving a vehicle, a driver falling asleep while operating a vehicle comprises a danger to the public as well as himself. Although this problem is commonly associated with truck drivers or bus drivers and the like who drive for long distances and long periods, any driver can fall victim to fatigue and the effects of hours of monotonous driving. Accordingly, there have been many attempts to devise an alarm system that will warn a driver of sustained inattention or sleep. However, no such system has become successful among professional or non-professional drivers.
Prior alarm systems for wanting a vehicle driver of dozing or sleeping generally have relied either on head position or head movement of the driver as an indication of attentiveness. These systems generally have included some type of detector mounted on the head of the driver, and an alarm annunciator either combined with the detector or mounted in the vehicle itself. In either case, the driver is required to wear some form of headgear that is unique to the alarm system, and which may be cumbersome, heavy, or otherwise irritating to the driver. In addition, if the alarm annunciator is mounted in the vehicle, the system generally requires some form of wired connection between the driver and the vehicle, further exacerbating the inconvenience to the driver.